Edo turns around to find Ryo frowning at him, which isn't unusual but never fails to be annoying. Edo frowning right back and snapping, "What do you want Hell Kaiser?" and for a brief moment, Ryo looks uncomfortable before handing Edo a small bottle. Muttering, "Take a little bit of this before you try to go to sleep," somewhat edgily and Edo's frown deepens.
"I talked to the healer here," Ryo continues in reply to Edo's unvoiced question. "It's supposed to help…. Look, just take the damn thing."
"What? No! It could be poisoned…." Edo pauses, his eyes narrowing as he considers what he just said. "Or is that what you want?"
"You know, Phoenix, if I wanted to see you dead, I think there are far easier ways to go about it than commissioning a poisoned sleeping potion. If anything, I'm sick of watching you drag your sorry ass around in a daze, nearly losing duels."
They stare one another down for a moment, each too headstrong to back off, until Edo finally grumbles, "fine," under his breath and snatches the bottle out of Ryo's hand. "But if I die, I'm going to be pissed, Hell Kaiser."
"Of course you will, you little drama queen. Now if that's settled, can we move on to something a little bit more important?"
"You're the one who's so damn concerned about my sleeping habits, Hell Kaiser. Not me."
Ryo shakes his head and mutters something that might be, "why do I bother," under his breath, Edo more than ready to snap something in response to that when Ryo fixes him with an icy glare. "The supplies we talked about. Have you gotten them together yet?"
"Not quite. It probably wouldn't be smart to leave right away anyway." Edo struggling to keep his reply light and dismissive as Ryo's expression grows that much more thunderous.
"Why the hell not? You know as well as I do that we can't hang around here."
"I know. But these people--" Edo pauses for a moment, gnawing on his lower lip while carefully gathering his thoughts. "We're heroes to them, like it or not. Right now they love us. There's talk about feasts and celebrations and--"
"We don't have time for that kind of shit."
"I know. But do you really think that it's smart to insult them right now?" A slight sigh puffs past Edo's lips and unconsciously he begins passing the small bottle he's still holding back and forth between his hands. "I'm sure it's a great strain on you, Hell Kaiser, but just try to smile nice and polite. I'd rather not piss these people off and wind up starving out there because you're an impatient sonofabitch who can't wait a day."
"Tomorrow then."
"Maybe."
"Edo." The name comes out as a furious hiss and Edo glowers up at Ryo's face.
"I'm aiming for tomorrow. If not, then the next day. No later. Now," a tight smile curving its way across Edo's lips as he finally stops fidgeting with the bottle. "The sooner we sit down and cheerfully accept the thanks of these nice people, the sooner we can leave. Right?"
Ultimately they stay in the village for three days. Which is three days longer than Ryo ever wanted or intended to stay, and he naturally makes his disapproval known even as Edo continues to make excuses as to why they need to remain; Ryo eventually grumbling in acquiescence and steadfastly keeping his distance from Edo and his machinations. All the while Edo smiles prettily and is polite to a fault. Careful, well-practiced, movements designed to get him what he wants.
The excuses only get weaker, Edo refusing to meet Ryo's eyes because he knows he's stalling. Just like he knows they need to keep moving. That they can't stay here forever. That they have to find Judai and the others. That it isn't their job to protect this village or save the damn world.
And then he looks around him and sees these people who have absolutely no way of keeping themselves safe. Who speak in hushed tones about nearby villages, just like this one, that have been virtually wiped out and Edo's stomach churns and he thinks up yet another lame excuse to mutter when Ryo glares at him, silently asking why they haven't left yet.
It's while they're bedding down on the night of the third day when Ryo finally growls, "I'm leaving tomorrow morning," Edo's mouth going dry for a moment before he manages to pull himself back together. His mind already scrambling over some sort of reasoning that he hasn't come up with before.
"We really shouldn't. Not yet. I mean…."
"I don't care what we should be doing, Phoenix. I'm going. We've wasted enough time. If you want to keep hanging around here, playing the hero until you get yourself killed, that's your prerogative. Not mine."
Edo frowns, but says nothing, knowing that there's no possible way to deny the accusation. Simply curling up on his side, keeping his back to Ryo.
And when Ryo wakes the next morning Edo is already up, wrapped in a thick cloak with his suitcase beside him while he avoids looking Ryo in the eye. Ultimately muttering, "Let's go. Before I somehow talk myself into staying even longer."